City Council

12A. Council Member Initiated Item from Mayor Ehlers of a Proposal for an in-depth\ninvestigation by the Public Health and Safety Commission (PHSC) of potential\nwildfire risks and concerns in Encinitas based on recent and similar past fires.\nEnvironmental Considerations: The action being considered by the City\nCouncil is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)\nbecause it is not a "project" under Section 15378(b)(5) of CEQA Guidelines.\nThe action involves an organizational or administrative activity of government\nthat will not result in the direct or indirect physical change in the environment.\nRecommended Action: I recommend the City Council delegate this\ninvestigation to the PHSC asking the PHSC to hold one or more public\nmeetings, gather these concerns and rank their severity and likelihood.\nRanking risks by severity and likelihood would enable us to focus on\naddressing the most likely and most severe risks. I further recommend the\nPHSC invite the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council (OFSC) to participate in the\nPHSC public meetings and deliberations. OFSC's prior investigations,\nconnections and experience in preparing for wildfire threat should help quick-\nstart the discussions. Once the list of concerns and risks are gathered, I ask\nthe PHSC work with the Fire Department to propose risk mitigation actions\nthat could reduce the most likely and most severe risks. These actions will\nhave budget impacts that should be considered as part of our upcoming\nbudget process. This is an urgent task whose results may impact budget\nplanning for next year's budget. The new FY25/26 budget is being compiled in\na series of meetings between now and June. Ideally, this investigation and\nmitigation proposals should be completed by early May before the budget\nadoption in June.\n2025-02-26 Item 12A Council Initiated Item from Mayor Ehlers PHSC Wildfire\nInvestigation